David's Laborious Day

Happy 54th David!

 wasn't out of bed Monday until almost 8am, and even then I was still tired and yawny. David and Anita were already up, and I believe that Anita was already back from her morning walk. I wished David a happy birthday, enjoyed some coffee, then headed out on a run.

It was a little cooler that morning, certainly a welcome change. However, the afternoon forecast was calling for mid 80s. Headed out for a run near 9am. Ran just three miles, which is somewhat normal for a week day holiday. It must've been around 1030am when David suggested we golf at Raymond. Our thinking was to play just nine holes. I was anxious to get back on the course in an attempt to cure what ailed my swing on Saturday. We wasted little time getting ready, foregoing a shower since we'd almost certainly work up a sweaty lather on the course. The girls wished us well as we left for Raymond near 11am.

The lot was only half full. With Raymond one never knows. It's the most played course in all of Columbus. Not one group on the tee box as we arrived. Inside we joked with the girl working the desk and register. Offered her my banana in lieu of green fees. David quickly tossed in his card to cover our green fees and cart. Only option was $40 per person. No 9 hole rates.

Even though no one was right in front of us, there were plenty of groups out ahead of us. And in typical Raymond fashion, it quickly backed up. But I'm getting a little ahead of myself. David pointed out , and proved it with a photo, that my grip was promoting a serious hook. Something I would have otherwise pooh-poohed. Sometimes you just can't see it yourself. As a result, I made a subtle change to my grip, and even though it felt a bit awkward, it produced far better results. Should mention that David birdied hole #1, a fairly easy par 5.

As mentioned earlier, we hit a serious back-up on hole #6, the 2nd par 5 on front. Two groups in front of us still on the hole and then a single at the tee box behind us. He asked if he could join us. We offered instead that he play through. I know it sounded rude but we wanted to play at our leisure, drop extra balls should we desire. After our drives, we let him go through. I hit a perfect Jimmy drive, by the way. Hit my 2nd shot, a 3-wood push left. It landed on the #7 teebox. :) But just as I did all day Saturday, I hit a nice plop shot over the tree and onto the green leaving myself about a 20' putt.

Swing was seemingly back on track. Even hitting my longer irons fairly well, which has been a struggle the last few years. The only drawback being the slow play. After we finished hole #9, we took a gander towards the #10 tee box. Still backed up, plus the single walker in front of us picked up a cart to finish the back nine. We opted to head home, in no mood to follow three slow groups around the back nine.

Home near 1pm. Ate snacks and drank lemonade. David cracked a Corona. I didn't plan to drink any alcohol since it was effectively my Sunday. Our dinner plans were already set. David made reservations for 7pm at Benihanna's even before leaving SC. It's one of his favorite places. Lazed around all afternoon. David & Anita left the house near 5pm, planning first a stop by his son's house. The original plan had David Lee and his girlfriend joining us at Benihanna's. Kendra, David's half-sister, her husband and daughter were expected to be there too.

Mindy the kids and I left the house around 630pm. Arrived at Benihanna's near 655pm where we met David and Anita in the bar. David quickly explained that his son and girlfriend weren't going to make it after all. Too bad. We were gonna order drinks and sushi appetizers in the bar but they were busy and never got to us. Soon Kendra, Paul, and Dora showed up and we quickly headed to our table. Like Bella, Kendra & Paul's daughter Reina (aka Dora) was adopted from Guatemala.

Adrian was our assigned sever. He proved to be quite effective: friendly, helpful and speedy. In all, there were nine of us sitting around the teppanyaki table. Can't remember who, but someone suggested Bella and Reina sit next to one another. They were both a little shy at first but quickly warmed to one another. Reina is 3 years younger than Bella. David shared a heartfelt toast of sorts before dinner, obviously something he'd contemplated ahead of time, the jist being how nice it was to share his birthday with others after having spent many special days alone over the years.

I think our chef's name was Kevin. He was good at his craft and put on quite a show while preparing our meal. That's their shtick. We shared appetizers, salad and soup ahead of our entrees. Jacob and I both ordered scallops and filet. David steak and lobster. Can't recall what the others ordered., but there was plenty of food. I ended up crating about half my steak for home. A few others did the same.

It had to be nearing 9pm when we finished our meal and headed for home. We opted to take 270 around. And even though David & Anita left after us, they beat us home. Everybody was tired and ready to hit the sack. Heck, I needed to be up at 530am for the start of another work week. David & Anita would be heading home to SC about the same time all of us were heading off to work and school. Good night moon.